Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 200 (2019) 111622

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Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jphotobiol

Bioprospecting of seaweeds (Ulva lactuca and Stoechospermum marginatum): T

The compound characterization and functional applications in medicine-a
comparative study
K.P. Anjalia, B.M. Sangeethab, Geetha Devib, R. Raghunathanc, Susmita Duttaa,
⁎

a
National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, West Bengal 713209, India
b
College of Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, P.O Box 2322, CPO Seeb 111, Al hail, Oman
c
Center for Bioscience and Nanoscience Research, Tamil Nadu 21, India

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Seaweeds are considered to be one of the richest bio-reserves, comprising of numerous bioactive compounds
Seaweeds with versatile properties and multiple activities. The present study examined the antibacterial activity of two
Bioactive compounds types of seaweeds, Ulva lactuca (green) and Stoechospermum marginatum (brown) collected from Oman Coastal
Antioxidant region against five multidrug-resistant bacteria. The aqueous extracts of the seaweeds showed better anti-
And antibacterial agent
bacterial activity compared to methanol extracts. The results of the antibacterial assay revealed the excellent
inhibitory effects of U.lactuca with the maximum activity against E.coli(8 mm) followed by K.pneumonia(4 mm)
and S.typhi(2 mm). S.marginatum formed a clear zone of inhibition only against E.coli(3 mm).The major phyto-
chemical constituents identified in both the types of seaweeds were Alkaloids, Terpenoids, Saponins, Flavonoids,
and Steroids. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results confirmed the presence of alcoholic/phe-
nolic groups, and amide groups in the seaweed extracts. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) results
evidenced the presence of bioactive compounds such as 5-Octadecenal, 1-Tricosanol, Neophytadiene,
Lactaropallidin, Phytol, Fenretinide, Lucenin, Vincadifformine in U.lactuca. Additionally, U.lactuca displayed
better antioxidant activity (33.05%) in the DPPH free radical scavenging activity test compared to the
S.marginatum (21.51%). Thus, the green seaweed U.lactuca could be considered as a potential source of natural
antioxidant and antibacterial agents for food and pharmaceutical products.

1. Introduction organic compounds found in the seaweeds, particularly the phenolic

Recent researches take its path in exploring and identifying the
natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents. Natural antioxidants are
mainly plant derived products and the phytochemicals such as flavo-
noids, polyphenols, carotenoids and sulphur containing compounds
have inherent defensive action against several diseases [1]. The herbs
and spices, an inevitable food ingredient, are rich in antioxidants and
have been safely used for many centuries [2]. Curcumin, the primary
compound found in turmeric has the ability to heal damaged tissues,
and had been widely used in different streams of medicine due to its
analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anticancer properties
[3].
Among the various bio-reserves, marine resources were found to be
one of the abundant suppliers of bioactive compounds with a wide
range of promising properties. It has been more than half a century;
attempts were made to exemplify the medicinal value of seaweeds. The
compounds and the flavonoids are primarily responsible for the anti-
oxidant activity [4,5]. Antioxidants are substances with the defensive
capability against the action of reactive oxygen species such as hy-
droxyl, superoxide and peroxyl radicals. The presence of these free
radicals becomes a predominant reason for aging, cancer and other
human illness when present in excess [6]. The biomolecules present in
the seaweeds have the potential to restrict the formation of free radi-
cals, scavenge and hinder the free radical facilitated chain reactions and
hence regulate the oxidative stress [7–9].
Many researchers have studied and reported the bioactivities of
seaweeds such as antioxidant and antiproliferative [10], anticoagulant
[11,12], anti-trichomonal [13], antileishmanial [14], antimicrobial [6],
antibacterial [15]and so on. The search for natural pharmaceutical
products has paved a way to the discovery of > 3000 new compounds
solely from marine bio-resources [16]. The methanol extracts of dif-
ferent varieties of algae from Gujarat, Rhodophyceae, Chlorophyceae,

⁎
Corresponding author at: Professor, Chemical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, West Bengal 713209, India.
E-mail address: susmita.dutta@che.nitdgp.ac.in (S. Dutta).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2019.111622
Received 2 April 2019; Received in revised form 17 August 2019
Available online 10 September 2019
1011-1344/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
K.P. Anjali, et al. Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 200 (2019) 111622

and Phaeophyceaewere found to be useful as an antimicrobial agent Table 1

against Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Citrobacter freundii Phytochemical constituent's analysis.
[15]. Among the different solvent extracts of Ceramiumrubrum (Rho- Sl. No Phytochemical constituents U.lactuca S.marginatum
dophyta), Sargassum vulgare, Sargassum fusiforme, and Padina pavonia
used against ten multidrug resistant clinical bacteria, the inhibition Water Methanol Water Methanol
activity exhibited by diethyl ether extract of S.fusiforme against Sta-
1 Alkaloids + + + +
phylococcus aureus and ethanol extract of S.vulgare against Klebsiella 2 Terpenoids − + − +
pneumonia was remarkable [17]. 3 Phenol − − − −
The present study aims at analyzing the phytochemical constituents 4 Sugar − − − −
of two different types of seaweeds, Ulva lactuca (green) and 5 Saponins + + + −
6 Flavonoids − + − +
Stoechospermum marginatum (brown) collected from the coastal region
7 Quinine − + − −
of Oman, identification of bioactive compounds and its potential ap- 8 Protein − − + −
plications, and the comparative evaluation of antibacterial activity of 9 Steroids − + + +
the extracts of the two seaweeds against five multidrug-resistant bac-
teria and their antioxidant activity. *+indicates present and − indicates absent

was confirmed using FT-IR spectrophotometer (Shimadzu: IRAffinity-

2. Materials and Methods
All the chemicals and reagents were obtained from HiMedia
(Mumbai, India and AR grade).
2.1. Collection and Identification of Seaweeds
Two types of seaweeds, Ulva lactuca (green) (Type A) and
Stoechospermum marginatum (brown) (Type B) were collected from the
coastal line of Sur region, Sultanate of Oman (Latitude: 22°38′17.39″N;
Longitude: 59°26′29.07″E) (Fig. 1).The collected seaweeds were wa-
shed thoroughly with tap water followed by distilled water to remove
the dirt and sand. The cleaned biomass was dried under shade for
4–5 days and then ground and stored for further analysis. The anato-
mical and morphological analysis to identify and confirm the species of
the seaweeds samples were carried out at Central Marine Fisheries
Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi.
2.2. Preparation and Characterization of Extract
Two types of extracts (10%), one in aqueous and another in me-
thanol were prepared [18]. The requisite amount of crushed seaweeds
samples and solvent were transferred into a beaker and incubated for
24 h at 40 °C in an orbital shaker. The resulting solution was then fil-
tered through WhatmannNo.1 filter paper. The extracts were stored at
4 °C for different experiments. The qualitative assessment for the
identification of phytochemical constituents such as alkaloids, terpe-
noids, phenol, Sugar, saponins, flavonoids, quinines, Protein, steroids
was carried out using standard procedure [19,20].The extracts were
characterized using UV-VIS spectroscopy, Fourier Infrared spectroscopy
(FTIR) and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis.
The UV-VIS spectra of both the seaweeds extracts were recorded
using single beam microprocessor UV-VIS spectrophotometer
(Labtronics Model LT-291). The λ-peaks were measured in the range of
200–800 nm with 5 nm intervals. The presence of different components
1S), and the IR spectra were recorded in the wavelength range of 400 to
4000 cm−1.The active constituents present in the methanol extract of
seaweeds were analyzed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
(GC–MS, Thermo MSDSQ II) equipped with a DB 35 - MS capillary
standard non - polar column of 30 m length, 0.25 mm inner diameter
and 0.25 μm film thickness. The carrier gas, Helium was introduced at
1.0 ml/min, and the oven temperature was programmed within the
range of 700C to 260 °C at 60C/min. The total running time of GC–MS is
37.51 min. The relative abundance of each component in the extract
was presented in the plot with peak area normalization.
2.3. Applications of Seaweeds Extracts: Antioxidant and Antibacterial
Activities
2.3.1. Antioxidant Activity: DPPH Radical Scavenging Assay
The antioxidant activity of the seaweeds was estimated using the
DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging protocol [21].
Initially, 0.1 ml of freshly prepared DPPH solution (0.004% w/v in 95%
ethanol) along with 0.4 ml of 50 mM Tris-HCl solution were loaded to
the test tubes containing varying concentrations of the sample (200 μl
to 1 ml). The mixture was then incubated in the dark for 30 min, and
the optical density was measured at 517 nm against the blank. Ascorbic
acid (1 mg/1 ml) was used as the standard and 2 ml of DPPH solution in
methanol as the control. The reduction in the optical density of the
DPPH solution with the introduction of the samples was considered as
the measure of the antioxidant activity.
Control OD Sample OD
Percentage of Scavenging activity = × 100
Control OD
[21]
2.3.2. Total Antioxidant Activity
The total antioxidant activity (TAA) of aqueous and methanol ex-
tracts of U.lactuca and S.marginatum was assessed by

Fig. 1. A Satellite view of sampling location

2
K.P. Anjali, et al. Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 200 (2019) 111622

70.00

60.00
U.lactuca S.marginatum Standard (Ascorbic acid)

50.00

% scavenging activity
40.00

30.00

20.00

10.00

0.00
200 µl 400 µl 600 µl 800 µl 1000 µl
Volume of sample

Fig. 2. DPPH activity of seaweeds

50

45

40
Equivalents of ascorbic acid

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
Ascorbic acid Aq.Ul M.Ul Aq.Sm M.Sm

100 µg/ml 200 µg/ml 300 µg/ml 400 µg/ml 500 µg/ml
Fig. 3. Total antioxidant activity of seaweeds.
Aq stands for aqueous, M for Methanol and Ul and Sm for U.lactuca and S.marginatum.

phosphomolybdenum method [22]. In this assay, 0.5 ml reagent solu-
tion (0.6 M H2SO4, 28 mM sodium phosphate and 4 mM ammonium
molybdate) was mixed with 1 ml of the sample solution in concentra-
tions varying 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 μg/ml and then incubated at
50 °C in a water bath for 90 min. After incubation, the mixture was
cooled in room temperature and absorbance was measured at 695 nm.
Ascorbic acid was used as a standard and TAA was expressed as number
equivalents of ascorbic acid.
cultures (60 μl) were swabbed on the surface of the Muller Hinton agar
(MHA) using a sterile cotton swab. The aqueous and methanol extracts
(20 μl) of the seaweeds were then transferred to the wells (5 mm) made
in the agar plates and incubated for 24 h at 37 °C. Antibiotic disc (Er-
ythromycin-E15) was used as a positive control. After incubation, the
zone of inhibition around each well was examined. The zone of in-
hibition was measured and expressed in mm.

2.3.3. Antibacterial activity 2.4. Statistical Analysis

Five types of multidrug-resistant pathogens such as E.coli, S.aureus,
K.pneumoniae, P.vulgaris, and S.typhi were obtained from Center for
Bioscience and Nanoscience Research (Affiliated to Bharathiar
University), Coimbatore-21, Tamil Nadu, India for the present study.
All the bacterial strains were allowed to grow in nutrient broth and
incubated for 24 h at 37 °C. The standard agar well diffusion method
was followed to carry out the antibacterial assay [23]. The bacterial
The variability in percentage scavenging activity at different con-
centrations was analyzed using a paired samples two-tailed t-test and F-
test. The statistical data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS
Statistics 20.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY) at 95% confidence interval to assess
the significant differences among the values of mean and equality of
variance for percentage activity at different sample dosage (p < 0.05).

3
K.P. Anjali, et al.
Fig. 4. UV-VIS spectra of U.lactuca.
Fig. 5. UV-VIS spectra of S.marginatum
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Phytochemical Analysis
The qualitative tests of aqueous and methanol extracts of seaweeds,
U.lactuca and S.marginatum revealed the presence of primary phyto-
chemical compounds, and the results are presented in Table 1. The
compounds such as alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids, and
steroids were present in both the samples. Quinine was present only in
U.lactuca whereas protein was found only in S.marginatum. Phenol and
sugar were absent in both the samples.
3.2. Antioxidant Activity
The DPPH radical scavenging activity of U.lactuca and S.marginatum
was assessed at varying concentrations, and the results are given in
Fig. 2. It is clear from the results that the electron donating tendency of
both the types of seaweeds increased with increasing concentration.
Furthermore, U.lactuca exhibited better activity with a more significant
4
Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 200 (2019) 111622
variation in the values than S.marginatum. Flavonoids were found to
have prominent antioxidant property and hence higher radical
scavenging activity and both the seaweeds used in the present study
show the presence of this compound [24]. The antioxidant analyis were
done in triplicate. A significant difference in DPPH activity was ob-
served in the radical scavenging tests using both the seaweeds
(p < 0.05) and both the seaweeds have potent antioxidant activity.
The p-values as calculated using paired two tailed t-test for both the sets
of data (DPPH activity of U.`lactuca and S.marginatum) are presented in
the Supplementary Material.
3.3. Total Antioxidant Activity
The results of Phospomolybdenum tests revealed that aqueous and
methanol extracts of both the seaweeds have significant total anti-
oxidant activity (Fig. 3). The TAA increased with the increase in the
concentration of the extracts and the activity was slightly lower for the
aqueous extract of U.lactuca. The same trend was observed in the total
antioxidant activity of tropical seaweeds, ranged from 9.2 to 53.9 mg/g
K.P. Anjali, et al.
Fig. 6. FT-IR spectra of U.lactuca and S.marginatum
of ascorbic acid equivalents [10]. The chemical composition of the
seaweeds and the solvents used for extracts also influences antioxidant
activity [22].
3.4. UV-VIS Spectrum
The UV-VIS absorption spectra of the methanolic extracts of
U.lactuca and S.marginatum were presented in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. In both
cases, firm absorption peaks were observed between 200 and 900 nm.
In the first case, a peak corresponding to amide groups (365 nm) and
two other firm absorption peaks was formed (410 nm, and 665 nm)
with a steep depression at 370 nm. In the second type, two firm ab-
sorption peaks were found at 415 nm and 660 nm with a shallow de-
pression at 550 nm. Similar plasmon peaks at 410 nm and 665 nm were
observed in different fractions of dichloromethane extract of the brown
seaweed S.siliquastrum while evaluating its antioxidant activity [25].
However, there are some inherent challenges involved in assigning UV
absorption peaks to specific components in biological species. Hence,
UV-VIS data should always be complemented by some other techniques
such as FTIR, GC-MS analysis and so on [19,26].
3.5. FTIR Spectra
The FT-IR spectra of the algal extracts were shown in Fig. 6 The
Fig. 7. GCMS spectra of U.lactuca and S.marginatum.
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Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 200 (2019) 111622
presence of the strong bands at around 3691, 3668, 3630, 3606and
3367 cm−1 may be assigned to the free OeH group indicating the
presence of alcohols and phenols and the peaks at 3433, 1643, and
1516 cm−1 represents the presence of amide groups, which arises due
to the carbonyl stretch and NeH vibrations in the amide linkage [27].
The bands at 3294, 2951 and 2823 cm−1 may be assigned to the CeH
stretch of alkane groups. The band at 1446 cm−1 can be attributed to
the α-CH2 bending of aldehyde or ketone group, and the band at
1203 cm−1 corresponds to the O]CeOeC stretch [28].
3.6. GCMS
The GCMS spectra of the seaweeds were shown in Fig. 7 and the
peaks in the spectra correspond to the retention time of compounds
present in the seaweeds extracts. GC-MS analysis unveiled a spectrum of
active compounds with various activities, in which around 16 com-
pounds were identified with prominent activity in both the seaweeds.
The bioactive compounds with its molecular weight, formula and pro-
spective applications were presented in Table 2 and Table 3.
The key compounds identified in the methanol extract of U.lactuca
with anti-inflammatory property were 5-Octadecenal, 1-Tricosanol,
Neophytadiene, Lactaropallidin, Phytol. Besides, the compound
Neophytadiene was recognized as a strong anti-oxidant and anti-mi-
crobial agent when extracted from a plant, Burserasimaruba (L.) and is
an effective traditional anti-inflammatory medicine [29]. The GC–MS
analysis of the red algae, Centrocerasclavulatum(C. Agardh) revealed the
presence of Neophytadiene and phytol which served as an analgesic,
anti-diabetic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory medicine [30]. Pre-
vious reports showed that 1-Tricosanol can be used as a natural source
of anti-microbial applications [21]. The green algae, U.lactuca has
proven its potency in anti-inflammatory activity which was attributed
to the sulfated polysaccharides present in it. The green algae positively
reduced the inhibition of edema when compared with the control drug
in the fourth day of their experiment [31]. In S.marginatum, the active
compound which possessed anti-inflammatory activity was1-Hepta-
triacotanol which in turn was identified as an antioxidant and anti-
microbial agent.
The active component, Phytol, found in U.lactuca has the potential
to activate the enzymes in the human body to regulate the insulin level
and hence control the metabolic activities associated with type-2 dia-
betes. Moreover, phytol can play a significant role in anti-microbial,
anti-cancer, antidiuretic, immunostimulatory activities and corre-
sponding applications [21]. Hardly any reports were indicating the
presence of fenretinide, a synthetic retinoid, in any of the natural re-
sources. The bio-active compounds with anti-cancer properties in
U.lactuca are Fenretinide, Lucenin, Vincadifformine, which makes it a
suitable natural source for the cancer drug. On the other hand, only
K.P. Anjali, et al. Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 200 (2019) 111622

Table 2
List of bioactive compounds identified from U.lactuca.
No. Name of the compound Molecular formula MW Activitya

1 5-Octadecenal C18H34O 266 Food flavoring agent, Antimicrobial

Anti-inflammatory
2 Erucic acid C22H42O2 338 Used as plant oil
3 9-Octadecenoic acid, C18H34O2 282 Omega 3 fatty acid
4 1-Tricosanol C23H48O 340 Food flavoring agent Antimicrobial
Anti-inflammatory
5 Tramadol C16H25NO2 263 Analgesics.
6 Ethanimidothioic acid, C7H13N3O3S 219 Insecticide
7 n-Hexadecanoic acid C16H32O2 256 Antioxidant
5 Alpha-reductase inhibitor
Pesticide
Nematicide
Lubricant
Hypocholesterolemic
Anti-androgenic
8 Lucenin 2 C27H30O16 610 Anticancer
9 Isopropyl myristate C17H34O2 270 Used in cosmetic
10 Neophytadiene C20H38 278 antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant
11 Vincadifformine C21H26N2O2 338 Anti-cancer activity
12 Lactaropallidin C15H24O3 252 Antibacterial, Anti-inflammatory Sedative, Fungicide
13 Phytol C20H40O 296 Antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiuretic, immunostimulatory and anti-diabetic
14 Digitoxigenin C23H34O4 374 Food additives
15 Fenretinide C26H33NO2 391 Anti-cancer
16 Quercetin 7,3′,4′-trimethoxy C18H16O7 344 Alkaloids and flavonoids

a
Ref: Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases.

Table 3
List of bioactive compounds identified from Stoechospermum marginatum.
No. Name of the compound Molecular formula MW Activitya

1 Dodecanamine C17H37NO3S 335 Germicide

2 Undecanal C12H24O 184 Uses ad fragrance
3 Cyclopentanetridecanoic acid C19H36O2 296 Essential fatty acid
4 Tetradecanoic acid C15H30O2 242 Essential fatty acid
5 Isopropyl myristate C17H34O2 270 Used in cosmetic
6 9-Octadecenoic acid, C18H34O2 282 Omega 3 fatty acid
7 Ledene oxide- C15H24O 220 Antibacterial, Antioxidant
8 1-Heptatriacotanol C37H76O 536 Anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and hormonal secretions
9 Fenretinide C26H33NO2 391 Anti-cancer
10 Andrographolide C20H30O5 350 The immune stimulant in upper respiratory tract infections and HIV infection.
11 Cembrene C20H32 272 Marine product used as a fragrance
12 Theasapogenol A C30H50O6 506 Saponins
13 á-Cedrene C15H24 204 Essential oil
14 Furosardonin A C24H40O5 408 Anti protozal
15 n-Hexadecanoic acid C16H32O2 256 Antioxidant
5 Alpha-reductase inhibitor
Pesticide
Nematicide
Lubricant
Hypocholesterolemic
Antiandrogenic

a
Ref: Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases.

Fenretinide was found in S.marginatum. The brown seaweed contained
essential fatty acids (Cyclopentanetridecanoic acid and Tetradecanoic
acid) and essential oils (á-Cedrene) compared to the green one.
It is evident from our results that the presence of the compounds
such as Phytol, Lactaropallidin, 5-Octadecenal, 1-Tricosanol,
Neophytadiene were the prime factors contributing antibacterial ac-
tivity to the seaweed, U.lactuca. Furthermore, the highest inhibitory
zone was formed by the same extract against E.coli (8 mm) when
compared with the brown seaweed, which showed only a few active
compounds (1-Heptatriacotanol and Ledene oxide) to resist bacterial
growth. The bactericidal activity of the brown algae could be due to the
presence of free fatty acids which consequently enhance the overall
defensive action against the gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria
[32].
The number of active compounds present in both types is more or
less the same, whereas the compound's activity differs. Fig. 8 depicts the
chemical structure of the bioactive compounds with medicinal prop-
erties.
3.7. Antibacterial Activity
The methanol and water extracts of U.lactuca and S.marginatum
were evaluated for its potential antibacterial activity against five mul-
tidrug-resistant bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia,
Salmonella typhi, Proteus vulgaris, and Staphylococcus aureus) and the
results were compared with the activity of a commercial antibiotic disc
(Fig. 9 and Fig. 10). The extracts of seaweeds, U.lactuca (Type A) pre-
pared in water and methanol exhibited better inhibitory activity against
the growth of bacteria E.coli (8 mm). The methanol extract of S.mar-
ginatum hardly showed any antibacterial activity against all the tested

6
K.P. Anjali, et al.
Fig. 8. Chemical structure of the active chemical compounds present in seaweeds extracts with medicinal properties.
Fig. 9. Antibacterial zone of inhibition of methanol and water extracts of U.lactuca and S.marginatum against S.typhi (a),E.coli (b), K. pneumonia (c), P.vulgaris (d),
S.aureus(e).
bacteria except E.coli (3 mm). However, the water extracts of the same
could form a clear zone against P.vulgaris (2 mm) and S.aureus (1 mm).
The water and methanol extracts of U.lactuca and the antibiotic formed
the same zone of inhibition against S.typhi (2 mm) whereas the disc
could outweigh the performance of both the types of seaweeds against
P.vulgaris and S.aureus.
There may be few factors affecting the antibacterial activity of
seaweeds such as the type of the species, the solvent used for extraction,
time and area of seaweed harvesting and so on. One among them would
be the time of harvesting, and the studies have proved that the me-
thanolic extracts of U.lactuca demonstrated enhanced antibacterial ac-
tivity against Staphylococci during the lunar phase of harvesting [33].
The red algae, Gracilaria dendroides had the highest percentage of total
fats and total proteins and hence the bactericidal activity, followed by
the green algae Ulva reticulate and then the brown, D.ciliolate [34]. The
ethanol extracts of the green algae, Caulerpaashmeadii, and Caulerpa-
prolifera demonstrated a wide range of antimicrobial property and high
bioactivity and similar is the activity profile of the green seaweed,
7
Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 200 (2019) 111622
U.lactuca observed in the present study [35].
On the contrary, the ethanol and dichloroethane extracts of
U.lactuca didn't counterattack the growth of bacteria (E.coli, P. aerugi-
nosa, S.aureus, B.subtilis) and fungi (C.albicans and C.neoformans) in the
agar disk-diffusion method with positive control as antibiotic ri-
fampicin (30 μg) and nystatin (100 μg) respectively [36].
Considering the solvents used for preparing the algal extracts, water
was found to be more effective in the bactericidal tests than the me-
thanol. The antibacterial property of seaweeds may be attributed to the
presence of bioactive compounds such as n-Hexadecanoic acid,
Octadecenoic acid, Tetradecanoic acid and the results obtained from
the current study matches with the published reports [24].
4. Conclusions
A comparative study on the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of
two types of seaweeds, U.lactuca and S.marginatum, was presented in
this work. It was found that green seaweed possessed good radical
K.P. Anjali, et al. Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 200 (2019) 111622

9
8

Zone of inhibition in mm
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
AW BW AM BM Disc

Escherichia coli Klebsiella pneumonia Salmonella typhi

Proteus vulgaris Staphylococcus aureus
Fig. 10. Antibacterial activity of methanolic and water extracts of U.lactuca (Type A) and S.marginatum (Type B): M stands for methanol and W for water.

scavenging activity and hence superior antioxidant properties com-
pared to the brown seaweed. The same trend was observed in the an-
tibacterial efficacy of the green seaweed. The phytochemical tests re-
vealed the presence of alkaloids and flavonoids in the seaweeds while
FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of alcoholic/phenolic compounds
in them. These active compounds are primarily responsible for the
antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Thus seaweeds can be con-
sidered as a prominent resource of antioxidants and antibacterial
agents. More antimicrobial assays may reveal its potency for medical
applications.
Formatting of Funding Sources
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Declaration of Competing Interest
None.
Acknowledgment
We thank Dr. Reeta Jayasankar, Principal scientist, Fishery,
Environment and Management division, CMFRI, Kochi for supporting
the morphological and anatomical analysis and the species identifica-
tion of the seaweeds. Also, we would like to extend our thanks to the
Center for Bioscience and Nanoscience Research, Coimbatore,
Tamilnadu-21, India for the facilities provided to carry out the ex-
perimental work.
Appendix A. Supplementary Data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2019.111622.
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